Hi all,
I haven’t seen any recent threads on Florida Tech. My son decided to apply after visiting RIT in January and discovering that he does not love the cold. His interest is in astrophysics and FIT seems to have a great program for that. Anyone with a kid attending or applying to FIT that can share thoughts on the school/application process?
My daughter graduated from Florida Tech in 2018 (civil engineer). She liked it a lot. She was an athlete so had some advantages (like priority registration) but really it wasn’t hard to get all the classes she wanted anyway. the school has a lot of ‘spacey’ things like parties for the eclipse, constant rocket launches nearby or overhead, lots of jobs in the area for anyone who wants one.
It is not a big school experience, and there are a lot of nerds (a lot) but the kids know how to have fun too.
The beaches are pretty nice. It is close enough to Miami and Orlando to do concerts, special events, weekends on cruise ships.
Awesome. Glad to hear that your daughter had a positive experience. My son is a nerd who loves “spacey” things so I think he will really like it. He has not received a response yet because he applied last month but we will plan to visit as soon as we can.
I think the size of the school is perfect for him, my concern with RIT was that it might be too big. Were there many clubs and activities for non-athletes? I checked the school site and didn’t see much. I find that these are the easiest ways to meet people and make friends. Otherwise, I am afraid he will spend the entire time in his room.
Hope you get additional feedback! By the way, did you consider Embry-Riddle in Florida as well as Florida Tech?
Each department has clubs like civil engineers, mechanical, etc. There is the jet car team, concrete canoe challenge, all kinds of clubs/classes to build moon vehicles. There are a number of fraternities and three sororities that organize events (you don’t have to be in one to participate in some of the activities).
During the first semester, the freshmen have to take a one credit class where they get points for doing things like attending a sporting event, going to study tables at the library for a few hours, meeting with a professor for office hours. It is graded but it is easy to get an A if you just do the things on the list. The very first week after move in is all about freshmen activities and there is something with colored chalk and a dance party and scavenger hunts. This is the stuff my daughter hated and wouldn’t do unless forced but she did really like it. She met a few friends that week that she’s still close to, even one who transferred from FL Tech almost immediately (the glories of social media).
IMO, Florida Tech is more into NASA and space and Embry-Riddle is more computer science. It may be just be the few students I know from each school, but that’s how it seems to me. It is fun (to me) to see people wearing Florida Tech sweatshirts at space launches. And my daughter knew one woman (same sorority) sitting in the front row.
No, I actually hadn’t looked at Embry-Riddle for him at all. Your comment prompted me to take a look and I sent the link to my son since they do have the astrophysics major he is interested in. He plans to minor in music which Florida tech offers. I didn’t see that option at Embry-Riddle and I know that is extremely important to him.
Thank you! I appreciate the additional information. Florida Tech sounds like it could be a really good fit for him. My son sounds like your daughter, he wouldn’t necessarily initiate participating in these types of events but once he does, he enjoys them.
We’ll see how it goes!
My kid-in-law is a Florida Tech grad in astrobiology from a few years ago. @twoinanddone’s description is great! Lots of space related opportunities there to take advantage of. Kid-in-law is working on a PhD now.